Welcome to the blog series for our decorative painters and do-it-yourself friends who want to learn more about stenciling gorgeous “allover” designs. Allover designs are an awesome alternative to wallpaper. This beautiful bathroom was created using Wallovers Ethnic Grid with Mod insert by decorative artist, Joyce Arbonne.

They can be customized in any color imaginable and save you or your customers looking through endless wallpaper books.

The finished result is spectacular and …. no one can find any seams. Years later, if tastes change, the walls can be easily updated with another paint application without messy wallpaper removal.

So here we go. Blog number one is about applying spray adhesive to the back of your stencil. When starting to apply a stencil on your walls the most important item in our bag of supplies, (after the awesome “Allover” brush) is spray adhesive. We happen to love the least expensive and most accessible (you can get it in any local craft store), Elmer’s Multi-purpose Spray Adhesive.

We’ve created a video here to help you understand the best way to apply it. So watch and get going on your exciting project. Stay tuned for more helpful videos from your Wallovers girls!

Three times a year antique dealers from around the country stream into Brimfield, Massachusetts for the Brimfield Antique Show. Once a year Rena Paris (Wallovers co-owner) and I come, rain or shine, to trudge through a mile of fields for ideas for Wallovers and hidden treasures for our Connecticut customers. So, in case you can’t get here…This year we thought we’d blog from the fields and share some of our discoveries with you.

You don’t have to travel to Pakistan to see some of the most colorful and unusual textiles of that region. Just stop through the Shelton’s field at Brimfield where pillows and bags shimmer with mirror, beads, tassel and other antique embellishments. And speaking of pattern…

Ever wish it was still the 60’s? The color and patterns of vintage clothing is everywhere this year at Brimfield.

Although it was raining we felt pretty colorful hanging out amongst these antique vendors. How about this Emilio Puccilike shirt for $20.

Color was abound on furniture of all kinds as well, from hand painted eastern influence……

To Retro ….

To Modern.

Dealers are getting more creative than ever with textiles. Covering chairs with old carpets pieces, making frames out of tin, and creating jewelry from scraps of uphostery. The theme this year is SALVAGE, SALVAGE, SALVAGE.

While the trend in home decor may be to go gray… you’ll always catch us around color! Rena discovered these fantastic enamel-coated, stackable bins, perfect for storing brushes, rollers and rags!!! or legos, matchbox cars and blocks??? (She has 3 kids under the age of 4!)

I recently took a trip to the textile museum in Washington, DC. The museum is small with only a few rooms which I felt couldn’t do justice to all the history and global influences on textile design. I was mostly enthralled with the gift shop with a wonderful selection of books and magazines I found myself sitting on the floor sifting through pages of scrumptious photos.

I love textiles. I just want to look deeply into the stitches and find out how each and every weave is accomplished. I never appreciated work more than my visit to the weaving market in Chinchero, Peru located 13,000 feet above sea level. The air is thin but that does not stop these women from producing. We watched as they dyed alpaca wool and worked looms for hours creating the tightest stiches imaginable.

Shopping in the local market was a feast for the eyes with brilliant colors and patterns stacked like candy.

The difficult part of shopping was choosing just one thing to bring home when every piece was its own work of art.

After a long day in the high altitude, we happily returned to our peaceful chakra garden, mystical surroundings and yoga room at Wilka tiki in the sacred valley of Urabumba.

Driving down 3000 feet in altitude also helped the headaches and breathing, giving us energy for some much needed yoga. In the studio I was keenly aware of the antique carpets and woven mats used making each little bench a unique retreat. Everything at Wilka Tika awakened the senses of the soul.

Have you ever had the “after vacation blues” when you know work is awaiting you and the memories and restful feeling of the trip begins to slip away? Those blues set in for me on the airplane ride home. To channel the energy from the trip I took out my computer and began drawing the hundreds of small geometric shapes that would create “Batik” by Wallovers, reminding me of the fabrics in the peaceful valley.

“Batik” is a stencil design that once applied to any surface will create the look of hand paintied and dyed fabric.

Remembering the wonderful spaces at Wilka Tika Retreat I realized the space between the walls at home was a perfect spot to fabricate a bench in our own small yoga room. I began by painting a wonderful red and fushia base, hand-brushed to create a an impression of a woven background. I used modern masters metallic Gold Rush paint and some mica powders for the strong contrast of a yellow gold. The base was then made from Terracotta chimney flues that I painted in a periwinkle blue.

The final touch was the Bench pillows made from the fabrics collected at the markets in Peru and the Chakra Gardens book from Wilka Tika. What a cure for the blues!!!

Proceeds from the book benefit the non-profit Wilka Tika Children’s Fund to support the isolated mountain schools and Andean children in their communities founded by the writer and Wilka Tika owner Carol Cumes.